This School Research Newsletter presents the research program of the National Swedish Board of Education (NBE), as adopted by the NBE Board of Directors in June 1982. The successive decisions on decentralization taken in the educational sector since 1976 have led also to a decision to alter the thrust of the research and development work within at…

Increasingly involved in curricular concerns, boards of education can determine the educational goals of the community by using the Educational Goals Assessment (EGA) and thus set priorities when cutbacks are necessary. The EGA is composed of four questionnaires listing 275 learning goals describing knowledge, attitudes, or physical skills and…

School boards desiring to attract top-flight superintendent candidates need to create an appropriate executive compensation package, including salary, benefits, perquisites, and symbols of professional status. This article provides package guidelines from insurance and leave allowance to mortgages and moving expenses. An inset touts Chicago's…

Presents ways to prevent and prepare for unfair attacks. Good communication and press relations are important. Lists five touchy topic areas requiring special consideration. (MD)

To ensure fairness and lack of bias in teacher dismissal cases, school boards should be cautious amd keep board members out of investigations, let the superintendent present dismissal cases, and base their decisions on evidence. (MD)

Censorship in the schools is on the rise, and court decisions in critical cases have not clarified guidelines for protecting student rights. In the face of this storm school officials must be prepared to make decisions that foster serious, contemplative thinking and analysis, irrespective of pressure group actions. (MD)

It's up to school board members to communicate they want schools to improve academic scores and standards while increasing their holding power. Outlines ways superintendents can act to reinforce such policy. (MD)

When your board must close schools, do as the Minneapolis School Board did: research, analyze, and develop alternatives; involve the community (including the local government); and when you make your decision to dispose of a site, act decisively. Case histories illustrate creative uses for surplus schools. (TE)

Students will learn more if local school boards set priorities, use test scores sensibly, and hold educators accountable. (Author)

The experience of the Kenmore (New York) Public Schools with an inservice program for school board members and district level administrators and staff suggests the issues that must be addressed when convincing district personnel and board members to accept and support the concept of local school initiatives for educational improvement. (PGD)

This book is a primer on board-member liability issues and is intended for both board members and school attorneys. The first chapter, "The Legal System," examines federal sources of legal authority, state and local sources of legal authority, and federal and state judicial structures. Liability under state tort law is the subject of chapter 2,…

Public schools across the country are aiming to improve student performance by engaging in comprehensive school reform (CSR). This guide was created to help school districts make CSR an integral part of their strategies for improving student achievement. Five components for CSR are described: (1) Strategizing, whereby the district supports CSR by…

A search for a new superintendent that involves school employees and community members gives everyone who took part a vested interest in seeing the new superintendent succeed. Offers advice about using public meetings and advisory committees in the superintendent search. (MLF)

Teenagers are the target audience for Whittle Communication's "Channel One" news show and its commercials. Critics are calling the trade of equipment for commercials a "Trojan horse." Advice, culled from several sources, is offered to boards of education regarding the issue of whether commercial television belongs in schools.…

Presents findings from the 18th annual survey of school board members on the topic of their attitudes toward alternative education programs for students. Alternatives to traditional schooling exist for troubled students within the broad public school structure, and almost 9 out of 10 board members say such specialized services should be provided.…